Top Three Traits to Get Hired by a Superboss

Who is the Superboss?

Managers, superbosses are exceptional leaders who help other people accomplish more than they ever thought possible. They’re those special bosses everyone wants — even before they became renown — the kind that open the door to new opportunities that can’t help but accelerate your career.

Superbosses may come from different industries and different countries, but to a remarkable extent they are all looking for the same thing when it comes to hiring. How do you match up?

The first must-have trait

One thing that virtually all superbosses look for is unusual intelligence.

Virtually all superbosses place an emphasis on having everyone around them be as smart as possible and they suss this out not only through interviews but by also observing people closely during on-the-job trial periods.

Lorne Michaels, creator of Saturday Night Live, has a rule that he repeats all the time: “If you look around the room and you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. You know, if you look around the room and you think, ‘God, these people are amazing’, then you’re probably in the right room.”

The second must-have trait

A second attribute that will make a superboss pay attention is creativity.

When superbosses talk with prospective employees, they want, more than anything else, to hear how they think. They are known to listen intently when talking with job candidates, expecting to learn something new themselves.

The third must-have trait

The third key thing superbosses look for is extreme flexibility.

Although superbosses often hire people with special areas of expertise, they are not usually interested in specialists who can only do one thing. They want a kind of brilliance that can be applied to many sorts of problems.

To underscore their appreciation for flexibility, superbosses frequently assign new hires jobs that have little to do with their previous experience and qualifications.

The determination of superbosses to recruit the most intelligent, creative and flexible employees possible is central to how they think about talent, and success.

Why need a superboss?

Hitching a ride with a superboss can be a game changer in your career. Gradually, you will realise that contact with this person seems to put people on a fast track to success. Log some time and you’re likely to go places, too. If you don’t you will be forever at a disadvantage compared to those who were close to him. Now you know what it’ll take to get into that game.